JJ Kavanagh & Sons Anmeldelser 

I've been using the 717 (Dublin/Clonmel) JJ Kavanagh service on a regular basis over the last number of weeks and have been highly disappointed with the service and punctuality of departures. What I've to say isn't much different to the rest of the reviews so I'll keep it brief.

- If you're tight on time you cannot rely on JJ Kavanagh. Their buses cannot even depart from the start point punctually. How can they ever expect to be on time in that instance.

- They advertise having toilets on board. It's a roll of the dice whether it's open for use on any given service. And if it is open for use it will likely be disgusting.

- Their drivers are either the nicest people on the planet or uninterested and rude. There's no in-between.

- Culture in companies feed from the top. It's obvious from my interactions with their office (2 times) and their drivers, that the company culture in JJ Kavanagh drives the poor (government funded) service they provide.

Changing booking details.
I tried to change booking details as the date of my trip to Dublin was changed. For all future dates I tried it kept saying no availability.
Next time I'll be booking the train.

Highly Highly recommended avoiding kavanaghs, constantly late arriving into Dublin, especially the early morning service, which is the most necessary to be on time, plus they now refuse to accept cash. AVOID KAVANAGHS, Dublin coach are far better

Rang to find out time bus time and whoever answered me was so rude and didnt wait for me to get reassurance on the time table very rude now

Route 735 is constantly late and unreliable.

It’s not even worth a one we were sitting for 50 mins and the bus never showed up absolutely ridiculous and we were scammed never using this company again DO NOT RECOMMEND

The buss service is always great I get it on a Saturday morning, but it’s redlicious that’s the all the busses don’t take card or leap care I got on a buss one week and they were only taking card no cash and then the following week they weren’t taking card or leap card and I had to run into a Shop to get cash it’s unacceptable

I would to give 0 to this company but I can't so I'll give a well deserved 1. Last Wednesday I was at Dublin airport at 2 o'clock and the driver didn't let me in because bus was full even if I explained him that I've already bought the ticket in advance. Long story short, I gave priority to people that were in a queue just before me even if they didn't have the ticket. I was on time at the parking and buying the ticket in advance should prevent this type of issues, ticket should guaranty a seat even if there a people before you. DRIVER SHOULD HAVE GIVEN PRIORITY TO PEOPLE WITH TICKET. So I missed the bus and I waited for the next one at 5.45.

Their buses just don't turn up and leave children waiting at a bus stop for hours into the evening

Can anyone explain why a long distance service for the airport (presumably aimed at people coming from outside dublin on their way to trips abroad) has to pass through the most traffic heavy part of Dublin so that it can collect a couple of extra people who could take other buses that are short distance? It makes the service so long and unreliable. And it raises the costs because of the tunnel. Plus, on today’s trip the whole bus stank of sewer, I guess thanks to a too full tank in the toilet? It was hell. Time Ireland graduates to this century in terms of transport it’s unbelievable

I’ve been taking JJ Kavanagh & Sons for approximately 4 years to get to Dublin from Waterford, never had an issue with any of the other bus drivers but just this one bald driver.

If you don’t have your young adult leap card with you this bus driver will not let you on the bus till you pay for an adult ticket. I was heading to Waterford from Dublin and during this time I had lost my leap card (I had already called in for a new one but it just hadn’t arrived yet). I’d already paid for my ticket online but the driver wouldn’t let me on the bus till I showed him my leap card. I had explained the situation to him and his response was that because his machine is showing red he couldn’t let me on the bus. So on top of paying for the young adult ticket, I had to pay for the adult ticket. Couldn’t he had let me pay the difference??? I’ve taken the bus with other drivers before and they’ve never asked for my leap card so why is it only him that I have to show my card to???

Another issue with him was that a woman on the bus today (it was the bus at 15:45 from Waterford to Dublin) was calling someone. He had pulled in and told her that she was being annoying and had only 10 minutes to talk to the person on the phone. Very rude. Like I’ve said I’ve taken JJ Kavanagh & Sons numerous of times, other drivers had never had an issue with passengers calling someone it’s just him who seems to have a problem.

These are just the main issues I had with him. I’m writing this complaint because I’m getting sick and tired of him. Anytime I’ve taken the bus with him there seems to be an issue whether it be with his attitude or something else. I also have friends who take JJ Kavanagh & Sons and they’ve had the same complaints about him as I have.

Do better with your staff!!

First of all: I welcome the fact that there is public transport in Ireland at all – unfortunately, it's completely privatized for profit rather than public and of the appropriate quality. I've used Kavanagh's buses there frequently in recent days. The bus drivers do their best. But 1) the buses are completely unpunctual, and 2) sometimes you just have to rely on your luck – for example, if you want to go from Dublin Heuston to Kilkenny. There are several stops in the right direction, but none are marked with "Kavanagh." You simply have to "know" that Kavanagh is serving one of the many route numbers posted there.
Furthermore – and this is even more important for this bad review – young people and students (theoretically) receive a significant discount (good). And if tickets are purchased online, there's an additional discount. That's only the theory. If you then try to buy tickets online (with different smartphones/tablets, with different browsers, and with different credit cards), it simply doesn't work. A tragedy.
Expropriate these profit-hungry private companies and establish a functioning public system. Better yesterday than today.

Got the bus from Dublin airport to Kilkenny ormonde road, and the bus driver was driving so so slowly we left the airport at 5pm and didn’t arrive in Kilkenny until 7:45pm when it’s only meant to take 1hr and 45 minutes. Absolute disgrace of a service and needs to be time managed

We tried to get a bus from Waterford to Dublin Airport. When we tried to book on website no route was showing for 1.15am to be able to buy tickets however it was showing on timetable. We wernt too sure if they bus was running or not but decided to take chance. Bus arrived. We asked the driver for 2 tickets and he said " no entry if no ticket" i asked could we but a ticket and he said no only online. I showed him it wasn't showing up and he completely ignored me and said to move if iv no ticket. I said to him I can see that online if I select start point kilkenny it allows to buy online but not start from setu. He said does this look like killkenny. Unbelievable rude and smart ass. No empathy or consideration for customers. We walked home and drove up to Dublin having been rudely left at the side of the road. Hes arrogance has put me off using this company again

I use the bus to get me to and from work and so far the normal drivers on the services I use are great.
For some reason known only to them they sent me a weekly ticket with a barcode that would not scan. I printed the ticket out to assist them but the drivers were fixated on the barcode not the printed ticket which shows my journey.
One driver in particular was especially hostile towards me when he could not scan my ticket and was not going to let me on the bus. Everyone in the queue with me felt sorry for me at having to take his rude behaviour.
Contacted their non existent Customer Service who did absolutely nothing about replacing my ticket with a barcode that worked.
It is a shame that one bad driver and their non existent Customer Services staff make the rest of the excellent drivers look bad.

I am a student with a TFI student leap card. The website would not process my ticket order - kept timing out. No TFI card readers on the bus. And they 'can't' (more like won't) process student ticket sales onboard. Absolutely ridiculous that JJ Kavanagh, with all these horrible reviews, is still a service provider.

I am utterly appalled at the way JJ Kavanagh & Sons handled a serious complaint concerning the safety and well-being of my daughter on one of their buses. During our return journey from the Macklemore concert, my daughter fainted, fell down the bus stairs, and temporarily lost consciousness. Passengers pleaded with the driver to stop, and although he eventually pulled over after 20 minutes, he showed no concern, offered no assistance, and instead focused on berating passengers for raising their voices during what was clearly a medical emergency.

Despite reporting this disturbing incident immediately and following up several times over a 9-day period, I was met with silence, excuses, and delay after delay. My requests for a phone call were repeatedly ignored. When a response finally came, it was a generic, insincere email that completely failed to acknowledge the gravity of what happened — not just the physical harm to my daughter, but the absolute lack of compassion or professionalism from the driver.

For a journey that cost €200, I expected far better. Instead, I was left feeling dismissed and disrespected by a company that should take passenger safety seriously. The driver’s negligent and aggressive attitude, paired with the company’s shockingly poor communication and unwillingness to take accountability, makes it clear that customer care is not a priority here.

I will not be using JJ Kavanagh & Sons again, and I strongly advise others to reconsider before putting their trust in a company that treats serious safety concerns like a minor inconvenience.

— Louisa Grimes Moran

Absolutely disgraceful company with terrible customer service, they refused to refund me despite their bus not showing. DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICE

I purchased a one-way ticket, showed up 20 minutes early, waited until the bus was due - no sign of it. Attempted to check their real-time tracker, no information available, checked their timetable - no bus listed for the time I picked, attempted to call their customer care - lines were closed.

Left me scrambling to find alternative means of transport as I had an event to attend and was already behind waiting and wondering if said bus was even scheduled as there was absolutely no way for me to confirm.

Contacted their customer care team via email afterwards and was told the bus conveniently arrived 2 mins after I left so no refund will be issued. Asked for my request to be escalated to management and I was simply sent a screenshot of their T&Cs, no apology and no explanation of why their website provided inaccurate or no information.

It's funny, when you check their T&Cs, the only information you'll find mentioning refunds - is every which way you're NOT entitled to one - tells you everything you need to know about how they operate and treat their customers.

Bus just never shows. Trying to get home from Naas to Maynooth. Always make it to bus stop 15-20mins early and it just doesn't show up. Try calling but never any answer. A disgrace of a bus service.

I have been making late night trips from Dublin to Kilkenny. The buses are on time. Tickets are easy to buy and cheap. Buses are clean and comfortable. Excellent service.